The present invention relates to manufacturing garments and particularly relates to methods for making garments having finished edges.
Most garments are made by cutting fabric into pattern pieces and then sewing the cut pattern pieces together to make the garment. Typically, each cut pattern piece has one or more edges that are sewn to the edges of one or more adjacent cut pattern pieces, which forms a seam between the cut pattern pieces. The outer edges of the garment, however, are not sewn to the edges of other cut pattern pieces. As a result, the outer edges are exposed to forces that may fray or tear the fabric. In response to the tearing and fraying problem, the clothing industry has developed methods for finishing the edges of garments, including using narrow elastic, lace, trim and/or a folded over edge. The clothing industry also uses fabric having a knitted-in edge. Although this particular type of fabric provides garments having smoother edges, its use results in relatively low material yields.
The most common method for finishing the edge of a cut pattern piece involves using narrow elastic. Referring to FIG. 1A, a cut pattern piece 20 is made of cotton, nylon, polyester, or spandex fibers or any other natural or synthetic fibers commonly used to make garments. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cut pattern piece 20 has an outer edge 22 and includes a plurality of fibers 26 having free ends 28 that terminate at the edge 22. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the free ends 28 of the fibers 26 form a rough, outer edge that tends to fray and/or tear as the fabric is used.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned fraying problems in clothing such as activewear, shapewear and/or compression garments, most cut pattern pieces have a narrow elastic that is sewn onto the outer edge 22. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C and 3A-3C, a cut pattern piece 20 has a rough, outer edge 22 with fibers having ends (not shown) that terminate at the edge. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 3A, a narrow elastic 23 is aligned over a top surface 30 of the cut pattern piece 20. Referring to FIGS. 2B-1, 2B-2 and 3B, a flap 25 of fabric adjacent outer edge 22 is folded over the top surface 30 and the narrow elastic is positioned over the flap 25. Referring to FIGS. 2B-2, 2C and 3C, the flap 25 and the narrow elastic 23 are held in place by stitching 32 for forming a finished edge 34 on the cut pattern piece. The finished edge including the flap 25 and the narrow elastic 23 has a thickness H1 that is substantially greater than the thickness H2 of the original cut pattern piece 20. As a result, the finished edge is bulky and is likely to be visible through outerwear.
As noted above, in most garments, the finished edge is made using a narrow elastic. In some garments, however, the finished edge is made using lace, a fold-over edge, or trim, with and without using a narrow elastic. The presence of the bulky edge (FIG. 2C) is not desirable, particularly when the fabric is used for producing garments such as activewear, shapewear, garments having one or more support panels and garments using compression fabric. The presence of a bulky finished edge is particularly undesirable when the fabric is to be used in undergarments and bathing suits. This is because the finished edge, as shown in FIG. 2C, adds unwanted bulkiness to the garment. For example, a bulky finished edge on an undergarment is undesirable because it may, inter alia, be seen through clothing worn over the undergarment. The bulky finished edge is also less stretchable, so that it will not readily adjust to a wearer's body. This will cause the garment to ride-up and bind to a wearer, causing discomfort.
The clothing industry has also developed fabrics having knitted-in edges, whereby relatively complex stitching is used at the edges to avoid the fraying and tearing problems described above. Although garments having knitted-in edges are smoother than garments that use narrow elastic, lace and/or trim, making the fabric for the garments is more expensive. This is because a knitted-in edge requires complex knitting that adds to the cost of making the fabric. In addition, the knitted-in edge provides limitations that adversely affect material yield.
Referring to FIG. 4, a spread 20 has a knitted-in finished edge 34 formed along a lower edge thereof. The knitted-in finished edge may also have rubber fibers that are knitted into the fabric to provide gripping to increase the hold of the garment to the body. The spread 20 has a length designated L and a width designated W. In the particular example shown in FIG. 4, the spread has a length L of 252 inches and a width W of 26 inches. A pattern is then used to define a series of pattern pieces 38A-38F. An automatic cutting machine or hand-cutting tool may then be used to cut the pattern pieces 38A-38F. Due to the requirement that each cut pattern piece have a portion of the knitted-in finished edge 34 incorporated therein, only one pattern piece may be cut from each of the respective panels 40A-40F of spread 20. As a result, the fabric in each panel section 40A-40F that is not part of one of the cut pattern pieces 38A-38F is waste material. As is well known to those skilled in the art, wasting material from a spread having a finished edge is undesirable and costly. In the particular spread 20 shown in FIG. 4, the material yield of the spread is 57.13% because the cut pattern pieces 38A-38F utilize 57.13% of the spread, with 42.87% of the spread being unusable waste material. This level of waste is undesirable in the highly competitive and cost-conscious garment industry.
In view of the above-described problems, there is clearly a need for garments having finished edges that are not bulky. There is also a need for garments having finished edges that can grip and that do not ride-up over a wearer's body to cause binding. There is also a need for garments having finished edges that are smooth and that do not show through outer garments. Furthermore, there is a need for methods of making garments that improve material yield and reduce waste.